Monthly Archives: November 2007

Everything went well as we got to Makati Shangri-la Hotel. Everybody can now laugh “genuinely”. :)

This is the view from Makati Shang. I believe this is the time when gunshots were fired.

Now, everybody is really worried. That’s one thing I learned, it’s scarier when you’re not in the middle of chaos.

While at the Pen, we can’t stand all being said about the coup. We felt they are overacting and it’s stressing us to death.

But while in Shangri-la, all TVs are tuned to different channels regarding Trillanes.

This becomes my favorite shot – window shot :)

We were very calm and busy at the same time when the tank entered Pen.

Can you guess? :)

We used to say “everybody smile” or “everybody say YES” or we can be naughty “everybody say SEX” but this time it’s “everybody say TRILLANES!” I was surprised to find out that despite the anger with Trillanes, he can bring out the best smile from everybody. hehehe.

The moment that almost never happened. I can’t imagine what Mars felt when she was walking the aisle. She never expected this attendance.

Well attended – including former President Fidel Ramos as one of the principal sponsors.

It might not be audible but what they’re praying for is very loud and clear.

Earlier they resigned already and all they want is to just get married, with or without everything.

Mars and Rian was given a rare gift -it’s the opportunity to experience what matters most in life.

Of all places and time, I got a wedding now at Manila Pen and Sen. Trillanes decided to have “something” here at Manila Pen. We’re all OK and the situation is not scary contrary to what you see TV.

My bride Mars already cried earlier and from then she’s very cool about all what’s happening.

My call time is at 3PM but I decided to go to Manila Pen at 1pm just to make sure I can go in. Makati Ave was closed, so I have to walk. The Police didn’t allow me to go in but I explained to them that I have a wedding to cover. They understood and let me in.

The lobby was peaceful except that lots of reporters are there.

The bride prepared early, just in case we need to move out of Manila Pen.

At around 2:30pm, the management of Pen asked us to move out.

Also at that time, Police are starting to move in. It looks scary but actually we’re just laughing at it. :)

Since everything seems to be a mess, my bride ensured that she will be as radiant when we go down to the lobby. :)

True enough, we were swamped by the media. I was waiting for them to interview me but I guess I’m not a news item. The least I can do now is blog this. hehehe :)

Here’s my bride and groom, Mars and Rian.

We can’t pass the main door of Pen, so we pass the exit going to the parking.

We’re now here at Makati Shangri-La Hotel to transfer everything. As always, Makati Shang staff are very supportive and getting out of their way just make sure everything will work out fine.

The wedding is at 7PM and we have lots of time. I’ll post again later. :)

Braxton is a friend from Digital Wedding Forum and I shot Hazel’s boss wedding last August. This is not really a prenup since I’m not sure yet if they are in that level already. But they look very good together and I’m very positive that they will have a lasting relationship.

After months of scheduling, we finally met but the rain won’t allow us to a pictorial. From 2:30pm up to 4:30pm, it was raining so hard that it’s impossible to take some shots. But then we decided to go out and luckily, the rain stopped after 5 minutes.

Braxton is real people person and he blends well easily with the street kids.

They’re very sweet and kissing seems to be their hobby. :)

One more…

…and another one. :)

We didn’t have a sunset but we got an amazing blue sky.

Thanks again Braxton and Hazel and hope see you again in the near future. :)

We started the pictorial around 1:30pm up to about 5pm playing with Twister. However, the caterer were gradually taking over our spot I guess that was the sign that we should stop shooting already. I went to the driveway and few more couples approached me for pictorial.

Here are the pics from the driveway.

I only allotted 2 minutes pictorial per couple from the 7 minutes time given to us. This is to accommodate as many couples as possible. Plus, that twister game is really tiring and it wouldn’t be a good idea to have them play longer. I limited it to 6-8 spins.

Let me share the story of Twister and how I come up with that idea. First, I want to do something different. Given the long list of great photographers there, they could all deliver stunning portraits of all the couples. I decided I don’t need to do that. Second, we have very limited time. I need a simple activity to generate natural reactions. I want all couples to move very differently from the usual pictorial poses. I thought about running, pulling, jumping, fighting, etc. In short, I want an anti-prenup pose.

What is anti-prenup pose? Anything not clean, sweet and proper.

I’m not a fast thinker and it took me almost 2 weeks to come up with that idea. That twister game only come up at around 5 pm the day before W@W Xmas party when I was having a merienda with Jason M and Pang. Actually, Pang suggested the Twister.

I was able to achieve the following:

1. Twister shortened the pictorial time.

2. It generated a lot of reactions.

3. The poses are very different and very random and I don’t need to think.

4. Because of the awkward pose, background doesn’t matter too much. I have very limited space also and the caterer slowly taken over 3/4 of my spot by the time I finished.

5. I want to do something most probably I won’t do in any of my prenup. Since it’s freenup, I’m allowed to do ridiculous things. It turned out to be a fun idea.

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Some pics at the party.

Steve wowed us 2 years ago with his song Totoy Bibo. Until now, it never fails to amaze us.

Aside from being the best videographer in the world, he’s also a great photographer and an emcee. :)

The biggest winner of the night – Karl. He gets a kiss from Mimi. Incidentally, they got the biggest award of the night also. Congratulations to Karl & Mimi for being the Top Supplier of 2007. It was long overdue! :)

The food, the party, the mood, the spirit and especially the W@wies make one great Christmas celebration. As I arrived there around 1130am, people are all busy preparing for the event. Thanks to Clarice of An Event to Remember. As usual, she makes everything seem very effortless.

Anyway, I was assigned to shoot prenup pics for the W@wie volunteers and registrants. With around 25 photographers doing it, I thought I could do something different. I assumed most photographers would do the beautiful and sweet portrait, I tried to do totally opposite of it using the “Twister”.

I assumed they were enjoying the challenge.

I tried to limit the spin to about 6-8 or all within 1 minute. See the body-twisting pose. :)

Even with difficulties, they can still afford to be sweet with each other.

Actually, that Twister is just a front to keep W@wies busy and allow us to do what we are really good at.

I was really looking for this moment.

There’s no sign of difficulty. Pure enjoyment – I hope. :)

I have one observation and W@wies would kill me for this. Doing the stunt is easy even in skirts or minis. The real challenge was identifying which is left or right. :)

To all W@wies, see you today at Fernwood during prenup pictorial. Due to number of registrants, we are only limited to about 5 minutes per couple but don’t worry, I can produce several images from that 5 minutes. I prepared some body-twisting poses for all you. :)

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To all my past couples:

Please submit your favorite shot from your wedding and tell me why. I wanna see your favorites and hopefully I can build a book out of it. At the very least, I can build a website from those shots.

To have one’s proficiency validated through a moniker or citation indicates a level of success that exceeds most talents.

Ace lensman Dino Lara has demonstrated his expertise by producing photos capturing the reactions and details in weddings. But to be more precise, he has elevated himself by introducing the Digital Storybook that is now the trend. That alone must have sealed his fate of being awarded by the WPPP (Wedding and Portrait Photographers of the Philippines) as yet its only “Certified Wedding Photographer.”

“I started with wedding photography in 2000 but really got the attention of the whole industry when I introduced the Digital Storybook the following year,” shared Dino. “Before that, all albums are matted so I combined graphic design and photography in the wedding album. It’s my biggest contribution to the industry and I’m very proud to have produced something that is revolutionary and trend setting.”

Since 2003, it has been popularly accepted that almost all wedding photographers are doing digital storybook layout in their albums. Thanks to Dino’s novel idea.

An active member of WPPP,he has mixed the conservatism of classic images and the playful radiance of digital technology to satisfy clients and anyone else’s eyes. Most of his shots are moments, relaxed and seemingly effortless.

His kind of service is hands-down first-rate, enough to attract members of the upper class. His first coverage was that of the wedding of Ali Gordon, daughter of Senator Richard Gordon, which he obviously found very memorable considering it was the first and it featured a prominent personality. That signaled his association with weddings involving political figures; he has been clicking his camera with the likes of Congressman Joel Villanueva posed with their brides.

“Being a wedding photographer gives me the pride of being a recorder of the first day of all my couples,” he happily stated. “My art is something they can look back from time to time and can be passed on to their next generation.”

With the respect he has earned since repackaging the wedding album for today’s generation,

Dino’s high-society clients have given him the leeway to inject his artistic visions to their photographs. The effect is always beneficial for the latter as soon as they marvel with his output.

Himself married since 1996, the now father of a nine-year old daughter and a four-year old son is essentially enjoying the fruits of his labor as a photographer while continuing to plant seeds for later harvest. Anyone would probably be engrossed to learn that his marriage to photography wasn’t that expected considering he is an engineer by education and that he spent a decade in the telelecom industry as a business development and product manager.

Looking closely however, it was that knowledge about product enhancement that probably?led to the Digital Storybook. And though “digital suits well to his workflow,” Dino actually spent about four years shooting two rolls of film per week and printing it via his own darkroom. He has learned the technical and creative intricacies of the craft by self-study and being an active member of several international wedding photography online forums (www.digitalweddingforum.com and www.fwforum).

In relation to the point he said, “Technically, a photograph must have contrast and perfect exposure. It should contain some of the elements like lines, patterns, forms, and shapes. In a creative point of view, the photo should ‘involve’ you to its moment.”

The wedding photography field is lucky to have Dino in its roster. Good thing he loves the occasion because of its mood that’s generally “happy and celebrating,” with all that positive emotions coming from two families merging, relatives reuniting, friends seeing each other again, and two souls vowing to stay together for life. His effective photojournalistic approach in documenting wedding ceremonies and receptions is confirmed by him being a consistent recipient of awards coming from Wedding Photo Journalist Association (WPJA.com), an international organization specializing in wedding photojournalism.

Though looking very shy and reserved, Dino exudes much confidence as far as his work output is concerned, and is vocal about his gratefulness to those who have helped him. During the WPPP Photographer’s Night wherein he was awarded his title, he thanked the couples he took pictures of for the ‘little moments,’ his wonderful team “who have always been there since the start,” and his family who continually inspires him.

While the award measures like a lifetime achievement honor which for some talents is the finish line, Dino sounds he’s not done yet. “I have been aiming to produce something revolutionary and I got it. But I’m still working hard to produce another and I don’t see any reason to stop. After all, art is either plagiarism or revolution.”

In his case, it’s revolution. Besides, he predicts the future by inventing it.

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